For the first time since its inception the 51st
Inter IIT Sports Meet has been cancelled. Unexpected heavy rains lashed out
Chennai in November due to which IITM will not be able to host the event.  It has been a ritual at IITs to participate in
this sports event but unfortunately, IITians will not be experience the exhilaration
this year.    

IIT Madras (IITM) held
a video conference with various IITs except IIT Tirupati and IIT Palakkad on
December 15 to decide the fate of the 2015 Inter IIT Sports Meet. The sports
advisor, training instructor and sports secretary from 16 IITs participated in
this meeting. They mutually agreed to call off the 51st Inter IIT Sports
Meet.

Earlier in December, IITM planned to
postpone the meet to March 2016, but many students are busy with summer
internships. Also, during the month of March, the weather in Chennai is hot,
and humid; which is not ideal for sports activities.

IITians were preparing for this meet from October. Students had put in
a lot of energy and efforts, and when the event was cancelled all of them felt
sad about it. The Inter IIT Sports Meet is an event where students from all
IITs participate in Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Football, Cricket,
Volleyball etc.

“Atmosphere at IITM is fine, but there are
major problems outside the institute. Lives and Livelihoods have been
destroyed. It will be selfish for the institute to host the meet in these
circumstances,” said Bipin Babu, Sports Secretary of IITM.

IITs start preparing for the sports meet
three months prior to its scheduled date. “It takes a lot of man power, and
resources to organise an event of such a scale, and none of the other IITs were
equipped to arrange at such a short notice. Eventually, the proposals to shift
it to other IITs was also cancelled,” Babu further added.

 It would not have been safe for IITM to
carry out the event though they were spending an amount close to Rs. 12 crore
for the Inter IIT Sports Meet.
PaGaLGuY spoke to Sethu Madhavan, a final
year B.Tech student and a member of the IITM contingent to know more. He said,
“After taking into consideration the current situation in Chennai, it would
only be fair to call off the event. There will be a sudden outbreak of diseases
once the water dries, and to accommodate around 2,500 people for the meet will
be unsafe.”

For many IITM participants it was a dream
to play on their home ground. Madhavan further added, “IITM’s Aquatics and
Water Polo teams received a good cheer from the institute, and we were hoping
to receive the same appreciation. I feel bad the event got cancelled, the dream
to play on the home ground will now remain unfulfilled.”

Some students who are in their final year
are upset, as they will be unable to represent their respective institutes for
the last time. Ishan Tyagi, a third year student who is a member of the
football squad at IITD, said, “The Inter IIT Sports Meet is like a
mini-vacation for us. It is not only about winning a medal but it is to be able
to experience the intensity of the competition. It is about interacting with other
IITians, and making friends. After a torturous placement season, my seniors
were looking forward to this meet.”

Amit Bhukar, a second year chemical engineering
student at IITKgp, said, “It is sad the meet got cancelled. Now, until next
year, we won’t know where our team stands.”

The meeting with other IITs also concluded
that since IITM is equipped to host the Inter IIT Sports Meet, it will be only
fair that the institute holds the meet either in 2016 or in 2017.  IITM was hosting the Meet from December 14, 2015 to December
21, 2015.